Hot Topics:

So far, Boulder ballots trailing 2011 total vote count by about 10,000

Municipalization campaigns say they're not worried about turnout

By Ashley Dean Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
11/04/2013 09:31:08 PM MST

Updated:
11/05/2013 01:14:45 PM MST

Voter service centers

Boulder County and Broomfield have five voter service and polling centers open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday where voters may drop off ballots, cast ballots in person, register to vote or vote using equipment and facilities for persons with disabilities.

Boulder clerk's office, 1750 33rd St.

Longmont clerk's office, 529 Coffman St.

Lafayette clerks' office, 1376 Miners Drive

University Club, University of Colorado, 972 Broadway, Boulder

George DiCiero City and County Building, 1 DesCombes Drive, Broomfield

Ballot drop-off

Ballots may also be dropped off from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the following locations:

Boulder County:

Boulder clerk's office, 1750 33rd St.

Boulder County Courthouse, Treasurer's Office, 1325 Pearl St.

Longmont Drive-up Ballot Collection, 534 Terry St.

Louisville Steinbaugh Pavilion, 824 Front St.

Lafayette Public Library, 775 W. Baseline Road

Lyons Town Hall, 432 Fifth Ave.

Nederland Community Center, 750 North Highway 72

Broomfield:

George DiCiero City and County Building, 1 DesCombes Drive, Utility Payment Box, Broomfield

King Soopers, 1150 U.S. Highway 287, Broomfield

North Metro Fire Station 64, 13515 Lowell Blvd., Broomfield

Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 3031 W 144th Ave., Broomfield

CORRECTION: This story originally mischaracterized New Era Colorado as campaigning for Boulder Ballot Question 2E. The group is only campaigning against Question 310.

On the eve of Election Day, Boulder County officials reported that 17,169 mail-in ballots had been turned in so far by voters living in Boulder -- nearly 10,000 fewer than the total turnout within the city during the last off-year election in 2011.

Representatives of the groups campaigning for and against the ballot issues relating to Boulder's bid to start a municipal utility said Monday night that they were not concerned that the number of ballots returned so far trails the total of 27,001 cast in 2011.

In that election, Boulder voters narrowly authorized the City Council to pursue the creation of a municipal electric utility.

This year, voters have been presented with two amendments to the city charter relating to Boulder's ability to raise revenue for a potential utility: Question 310, which is supported by Xcel Energy and which backers of the utility contend would "kill" municipalization, and Question 2E, which was placed on ballot the City Council as a competing measure.

Voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots.

Katy Atkinson, spokeswoman for Voter Approval of Debt Limits, the group behind Question 310, said she was surprised at the turnout figures so far, given some of the other "high-profile" state issues on the ballot. She said it's difficult to speculate, though, what it means.

"It's hard to tell, it really is. I think it shows, definitely, a lack of intensity among the general electorate," Atkinson said. "My guess is that when they put (Question 2E) on the ballot, they did it to confuse the voters. This may be evidence that they've discouraged the confused voters."

Steve Fenberg, executive director of New Era Colorado, which is campaigning against 310, said he thinks higher turnout than 2011, or even the same turnout, would work in favor of municipalization. But he said he's not worried about the numbers so far.

"To be honest, if we are behind, I don't think we're nearly as behind as some people are saying," Fenberg said. "There's always going to be a lag because of ballots coming in through the mail and when votes come in they can take a while to count. There's probably maybe a couple thousand votes on top of that. I really don't think we're that behind, if at all."

If both questions 2E and 310 are approved by voters, the one with the highest total votes will be implemented.

As of 6:30 p.m. Monday, a total of 61,859 ballots countywide had been turned in.

Initial vote counts will be announced by Boulder County beginning at 7 tonight.

Monday afternoon, the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office held an open house to show local voters how their ballots are processed. The county's election office is designed for easy observation, Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall said. Not long after the open house began, two groups of six were taking a tour as envelope signatures were checked by computers and human eyes. A staff of about 20 cheered when the first batch of envelopes from which they would remove ballots arrived in front of them.

Among the early visitors were Nancy and Tom Dowling, and Merrily Mazza -- the latter two are running for City Council in Lafayette.

"It was very informative and we did ask many questions. (Hall) described the process very clearly," Tom Dowling said.

The action in processing ballots picked up toward 6 p.m., but the visitors had all but disappeared by then.

Still, it seemed to assure those who turned out.

"I'm originally from Chicago," Mazza said. "I wanted to see if dead people were voting."

Boulder County temporary voting staff members Doris Koepke, left, and Darlieen DelPizzo organize ballots to be verified and counted on Monday at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office in Boulder.
(
JEREMY PAPASSO
)

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story